SpatialRelation Property [Visio 2003 SDK Documentation]

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Returns an integer that represents the spatial relationship of one shape to another shape. Both shapes must be on the same page or in the same master.

intRet = object**.SpatialRelation**(OtherShape, Tolerance, Flags)

intRet     Integer. The relationship between two shapes. See Remarks for the values of this argument.

object     Required. An expression that returns a Shape object.

OtherShape     Required. The other Shape object involved in the comparison.

Tolerance     Required Double. A distance in internal drawing units with respect to the coordinate space defined by the Shape object's parent.

Flags     Required Integer. Flags that influence the result. See Remarks for the values of this argument.

Version added

2000

Remarks

  • The intRet argument can be any combination of the values defined in VisSpatialRelationCodes in the Visio type library. The SpatialRelation property returns zero (0) if the two shapes being compared are not in any of the relationships discussed in the table in the VisSpatialRelationCodes topic.

  • The Flags argument can be any combination of the values of the constants defined in the following table. These constants are declared in VisSpatialRelationFlags in the Visio type library.

    Constant Value Description

    visSpatialIncludeGuides

    &H2

    Considers a guide's Geometry section. By default, guides do not influence the result.

    visSpatialIncludeHidden

    &H10

    Considers hidden Geometry sections. By default, hidden Geometry sections do not influence the result.

    visSpatialIgnoreVisible

    &H20

    Does not consider visible Geometry sections. By default, visible Geometry sections influence the result.

    Use the NoShow cell to determine whether a Geometry section is hidden or visible. Hidden Geometry sections have a value of TRUE and visible Geometry sections have a value of FALSE in the NoShow cell.

Note   When it compares two shapes, the SpatialRelation property does not consider the width of a shape's line, shadows, line ends, control points, or connection points.

Example

This Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) example shows how to use the SpatialRelation property in an event handler for the ShapeAdded event to determine the spatial relationship between shapes.

Before adding the following code to your VBA project, make sure there is at least one shape on the drawing page. Then, after adding the code, add another shape to your drawing.

Public Sub Document_ShapeAdded(ByVal Shape As IVShape)

    Dim vsoShapeOnPage As Visio.Shape 
    Dim intTolerance As Integer
    Dim intReturnValue As VisSpatialRelationCodes 
    Dim intFlag As VisSpatialRelationFlags 
    Dim strReturn As String
    On Error GoTo errHandler 

    'Initialize tolerance argument.
    intTolerance = 0.25 

    'Initialize flags argument.
    intFlag = visSpatialIncludeHidden 
    For Each vsoShapeOnPage In ActivePage.Shapes 

        'Get the spatial relationship.
        intReturnValue = Shape.SpatialRelation(vsoShapeOnPage, _ 
            intTolerance, intFlag) 

        'Convert return code to string value.
        Select Case intReturnValue      
            Case VisSpatialRelationCodes.visSpatialContain 
                strReturn = "Contains" 
            Case VisSpatialRelationCodes.visSpatialContainedIn 
                strReturn = "is Contained in" 
            Case VisSpatialRelationCodes.visSpatialOverlap 
                strReturn = "overlaps" 
            Case VisSpatialRelationCodes.visSpatialTouching 
                strReturn = "is touching" 
            Case Else
                strReturn = "has no relation with" 
        End Select 
       
        'Display relationship in the shape's text.
        vsoShapeOnPage.Text = Shape.Name & " " & strReturn & " " & _ 
            vsoShapeOnPage.Name 

    Next 

errHandler: 

End Sub

Applies to | Shape object

See Also | DistanceFrom property | DistanceFromPoint property | SpatialNeighbors property | SpatialSearch property